Dog Days

Disgusted about spending the summer with the social-outcast grandniece of her eccentric baby-sitter, Rosie Riggs soon discovers that she and Skinny-Bones share a love of the "Super-Dog" books and that the author of the books, Dawn O'Day, is one of her new neighbors.Disgusted about spending the summer with the grandniece of her baby-sitter, Rosie Riggs soon discovers that she and Skinny-Bones share a love of the "Super-Dog" books

Grade 3-5-- Rosie, a little girl with a big vocabulary, is unhappy about having to spend the summer with "Skinny-bones" Scott, the outcast of the neighborhood, while Skinny-bones's aunt babysits for Rosie and her sister. The two girls initially keep their distance from one another; however, in the time it takes Rosie to turn to her handy thesaurus to find just the right words to describe the situation--"abominable and nefarious"--the two girls become friends, united by the thrill of having famous author Dawn O'Day and her wonder dog, Sandy, move in next door to Rosie. They soon discover, however, that Sandy is not really a wonder dog and that Miss O'Day is painfully shy and not eager to make friends. A funny, well-written story that gives the messages--although a bit heavyhandedly at times--that things are seldom what they seem and that friendship can come in all shapes and sizes. Even though her initial unkindness toward Skinny-bones is glossed over too quickly, Rosie is essentially a likable and believable character who reacts appropriately to the events around her. A well-paced, enjoyable story. --Jane Marino, White Plains Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.